The New Year not only determines how far you have come in your life, but it’s also a fresh beginning to a new chapter of your life.

Planning a New Year resolution is crucial to not let yourself wander off and to direct yourself towards your dreams and goals.

How to set a New Year’s resolution

Reflect: Reflect on how the previous year passed; what good things occurred and how much did you contribute towards your life’s aim.

This will help you identify the progress you made the last year and what should be your next step to enter your life’s new year.

Set goals: Think about how you want to transform your life. Or what you want to be. Write what tasks you crave for, which will reduce the distance between your aim and your current progress.

Know your habits: Highlight the habits you want to change. For example, waking up late in the morning or procrastination. If you can overcome these, life will become a lot easier for you.

When you realise what bad habits inhibit you, only then you would be able to correct them to lead a mentally and physically healthy lifestyle.

Schedule: Divide your goals into components, like how many tasks you ought to complete in a day or probably in a week. It help you keep track of things and meet your goals. When tasks are divided into smaller chunks, they are easier to accomplish and the sense of accomplishment boosts confidence.

How to keep track of New Year’s resolutions

Planning a New Year’s resolution is not effective until it’s put into action. Many of us complain that planning the resolution is super easy, but keeping track of it is super hard! So let me share some useful tips:

Set realistic achievable goals: We all want to learn 15 new skills, five different languages, and eliminate three bad habits. But we are not robots that can act upon no matter what the command is.

So choose goals within the realm of possibility, challenging but not impossible. Our habits take time to change, if you want the improvement to take place in a day, it’s not possible. So be patient and lead with perseverance. It’s better to tackle one resolution well, rather than multiple resolutions poorly.

Review your resolution frequently: At the end of the day or week, review how close you are to your aim. If you are not thinking about your resolution regularly, chances for you to succeed are less likely.

Thus, it’s crucial for you to realise your goals by reviewing it at least once in a week. Don’t forget to mark your daily progress on the monthly goal.

Get back, quickly: If you fall off your goal track, it’s of no harm as long as you get back quickly. Remember, if you miss the task even by 90 percent, you haven’t failed completely.

Rome wasn’t built in a day; therefore, don’t let the setbacks pull you down. The crucial part is to avoid pessimistic thoughts hindering your path. A few setbacks shouldn’t spoil your resolution for the year, right?

Admit your mistakes: If you make any mistake, don’t try to search for excuses. Own the mistake and try to correct it. For example; if you skipped a study session, don’t put it off by blaming it on lack of time, rather make it up the next day.

Reward yourself: When you are able to achieve your goal, reward yourself with something that motivates you, like a chocolate bar or enjoying reading your favourite book. Not only it will soak up all your exhaustion, but also will radiate motivation for you to continue forward.

People who set resolutions are most likely to succeed. Identifying values allows us to lead life with a direction, backed by purpose that improves lives.

Let’s use this year efficiently to bring us closer to our dream and success. Good luck, resolvers!

Published in Dawn, Young World, January 1st, 2022